2022–23 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 2022–23 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by eighth-year head coach Rick Barnes, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Ole Miss before losing to Missouri in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East Region, where they defeated Louisiana in the First Round and Duke in the Second Round to reach the Sweet Sixteen. There, they were upset by Florida Atlantic, closing their season with an overall record of 25–11.

2022–23 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Battle 4 Atlantis champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 20
Record	25–11 (11–7 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Barnes (8th season)
Associate head coach	Justin Gainey
Assistant coaches	Rod Clark Gregg Polinsky
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena

2022–23 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Alabama†	16	–	2		.889			31	–	6		.838
No. 17 Texas A&M	15	–	3		.833			25	–	10		.714
Kentucky	12	–	6		.667			22	–	12		.647
No. 23 Missouri	11	–	7		.611			25	–	10		.714
No. 20 Tennessee	11	–	7		.611			25	–	11		.694
Vanderbilt	11	–	7		.611			22	–	15		.595
Auburn	10	–	8		.556			21	–	13		.618
Florida	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Mississippi State	8	–	10		.444			21	–	13		.618
Arkansas	8	–	10		.444			22	–	14		.611
Georgia	6	–	12		.333			16	–	16		.500
South Carolina	4	–	14		.222			11	–	21		.344
Ole Miss	3	–	15		.167			12	–	21		.364
LSU	2	–	16		.111			14	–	19		.424
† 2023 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Volunteers finished the 2021–22 season 27–8, 14–4 in SEC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M to win their first SEC Tournament title since 1979. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South Region, where they defeated Longwood in the first round before being upset by Michigan in the second round.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Kennedy Chandler	1	G	6'0"	171	Freshman	Memphis, TN	Declared for 2022 NBA draft
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield	2	F	6'10"	246	Freshman	Clarksville, TN	Transferred to Louisville
Quetin Diboundje	3	G	6'5"	217	Freshman	Montpellier, France	Transferred to East Carolina
John Fulkerson	10	F	6'9"	219	GS Senior	Kingsport, TN	Graduated
Victor Bailey Jr.	12	G	6'4"	182	RS Senior	Austin, TX	Graduate transferred to George Mason
Justin Powell	24	G	6'6"	197	Sophomore	Prospect, KY	Transferred to Washington State
Handje Tamba	32	F	6'11"	229	Freshman	Knoxville, TN	Transferred to Weber State
Cole Morris	34	F	6'9"	211	Sophomore	Marietta, GA	Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Brock Janeck	35	F	6'8"	228	Senior	Knoxville, TN	Walk-on; graduate transferred to East Tennessee State

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Tyreke Key	4	G	6'3"	205	GS Senior	Celina, TN	Indiana State
Colin Coyne	35	F	6'10"	225	Senior	Fredericksburg, VA	Mary Washington

2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Julian Phillips #8 SF	Blythewood, SC	Link Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	May 12, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
B.J. Edwards #33 PG	Knoxville, TN	Knoxville Catholic High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Jun 30, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
D.J. Jefferson #25 PG	Saint Paul, MN	Minnesota Prep	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 24, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 81
Tobe Awaka PF	Bronx, NY	Cardinal Hayes	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	May 17, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2022 Tennessee Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Freddie Dilione #8 SG	Fayetteville, NC	Word of God Christian Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Aug 16, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 88
J.P. Estrella #10 C	Portland, ME	Brewster Academy	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 2, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 86
Cade Phillips #41 C	Jacksonville, AL	Link Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 26, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2023 Tennessee Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2022–23 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Jonas Aidoo 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 234 lb (106 kg) So Liberty Heights Athletic Institute Durham, NC G 1 B.J. Edwards 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Knoxville Catholic HS Knoxville, TN F 2 Julian Phillips 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Link Academy (MO) Blythewood, SC G 3 Evan Shiflet (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Fr Christ Presbyterian Academy Nashville, TN G 4 Tyreke Key 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 207 lb (94 kg) RS Sr Indiana State Celina, TN G 5 Zakai Zeigler 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 167 lb (76 kg) So Our Savior Lutheran Long Island, NY F 11 Tobe Awaka 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 242 lb (110 kg) Fr Cardinal Hayes HS Hyde Park, NY F 13 Olivier Nkamhoua 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Sr Bishop Walsh School Helsinki, Finland G 15 Jahmai Mashack 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So Etiwanda HS Fontana, CA G 21 Kent Gilbert (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Conley HS Greenville, NC G 25 Santiago Véscovi 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr NBA Global Academy Montevideo, Uruguay G 30 Josiah-Jordan James 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Sr Porter-Gaud School Charleston, SC G 31 Isaiah Sulack (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 186 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Bossier Parish Community College Knoxville, TN G 32 Kidd Brizek (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Powdersville HS Powdersville, SC F 33 Uroš Plavšić 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 251 lb (114 kg) RS Sr Arizona State Ivanjica, Serbia F 35 Colin Coyne Jr. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Sr Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA G 44 D.J. Jefferson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Minnesota Preparatory Academy Richardson, TX	Head coach Rick Barnes (Lenoir–Rhyne) Assistant coach(es) Justin Gainey (NC State) Rod Clark (Lindsey Wilson) Gregg Polinsky (Northern Arizona) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 28, 2022* 9:00 p.m., PPV.com	No. 11	vs. No. 2 Gonzaga Legends of Basketball Charity Classic	W 99–80		26 – Key	14 – Nkamhoua	8 – Zeigler	Comerica Center (2,738) Frisco, TX
Regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 11	Tennessee Tech	W 75–43	1–0	17 – Key	8 – Vescovi	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,957) Knoxville, TN
November 13, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 11	vs. Colorado	L 66–78	1–1	15 – Tied	10 – Nkamhoua	4 – Zeigler	Bridgestone Arena (12,482) Nashville, TN
November 16, 2022* 7:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 22	Florida Gulf Coast	W 81–50	2–1	18 – Tied	6 – Tied	3 – Vescovi	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,524) Knoxville, TN
November 23, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPN2	No. 22	vs. Butler Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals	W 71–45	3–1	13 – Vescovi	6 – Tied	5 – Zeigler	Imperial Arena (465) Nassau, BAH
November 24, 2022* 1:30 p.m., ESPN2	No. 22	vs. USC Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals	W 73–66	4–1	25 – Phillips	9 – Aidoo	5 – Vescovi	Imperial Arena (432) Nassau, BAH
November 25, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 22	vs. No. 3 Kansas Battle 4 Atlantis championship	W 64–50	5–1	20 – Vescovi	9 – Aidoo	3 – Zeigler	Imperial Arena (2,018) Nassau, BAH
November 30, 2022* 7:15 p.m., SECN	No. 13	McNeese State	W 76–40	6–1	16 – Vescovi	6 – Tied	4 – Phillips	Thompson–Boling Arena (15,927) Knoxville, TN
December 4, 2022* 4:00 p.m., SECN	No. 13	Alcorn State	W 94–40	7–1	20 – Nkamhoua	7 – Mashack	6 – Nkamhoua	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,481) Knoxville, TN
December 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., SECN	No. 7	Eastern Kentucky	W 84–49	8–1	17 – Key	10 – Phillips	5 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (15,746) Knoxville, TN
December 11, 2022* 4:30 p.m., FS1	No. 7	vs. No. 13 Maryland Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational	W 56–53	9–1	12 – Zeigler	10 – Phillips	3 – Tied	Barclays Center (8,028) Brooklyn, NY
December 17, 2022* 10:30 p.m., ESPN2	No. 6	at No. 9 Arizona	L 70–75	9–2	21 – Zeigler	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	McKale Center (14,688) Tucson, AZ
December 21, 2022* 6:00 p.m., SECN+	No. 8	Austin Peay	W 86–44	10–2	20 – Nkamhoua	11 – Awaka	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,120) Knoxville, TN
December 28, 2022 5:00 p.m., SECN	No. 7	at Ole Miss	W 63–59	11–2 (1–0)	22 – Vescovi	13 – Aidoo	3 – Tied	SJB Pavilion (7,013) Oxford, MS
January 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 8	Mississippi State	W 87–53	12–2 (2–0)	14 – Vescovi	7 – Phillips	10 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,697) Knoxville, TN
January 7, 2023 3:30 p.m., SECN	No. 8	at South Carolina	W 85–42	13–2 (3–0)	21 – Nkamhoua	10 – Nkamhoua	8 – Zeigler	Colonial Life Arena (10,704) Columbia, SC
January 10, 2023 9:00 p.m., SECN	No. 5	Vanderbilt Rivalry	W 77–68	14–2 (4–0)	15 – Tied	6 – Tied	9 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,255) Knoxville, TN
January 14, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 5	Kentucky Rivalry	L 56–63	14–3 (4–1)	19 – Plavsic	5 – James	7 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
January 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 9	at Mississippi State	W 70–59	15–3 (5–1)	24 – Zeigler	11 – Phillips	4 – Zeigler	Humphrey Coliseum (8,797) Starkville, MS
January 21, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 9	at LSU	W 77–56	16–3 (6–1)	22 – James	7 – Tied	10 – Zeigler	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,462) Baton Rouge, LA
January 25, 2023 7:00 p.m., SECN	No. 4	Georgia	W 70–41	17–3 (7–1)	11 – Zeigler	7 – James	7 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (19,802) Knoxville, TN
January 28, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 4	No. 10 Texas Big 12/SEC Challenge College GameDay	W 82–71	18–3	27 – Nkamhoua	8 – Nkamhoua	10 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
February 1, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 2	at Florida	L 54–67	18–4 (7–2)	15 – Ziegler	9 – Nkamhoua	3 – Zeigler	O'Connell Center (10,160) Gainesville, FL
February 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	No. 25 Auburn	W 46–43	19–4 (8–2)	15 – James	14 – James	6 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
February 8, 2023 7:00 p.m., SECN	No. 6	at Vanderbilt Rivalry	L 65–66	19–5 (8–3)	14 – Tied	9 – Awaka	7 – Zeigler	Memorial Gymnasium (10,483) Nashville, TN
February 11, 2023 6:00 p.m., SECN	No. 6	Missouri	L 85–86	19–6 (8–4)	23 – Key	7 – Awaka	10 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
February 15, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 10	No. 1 Alabama	W 68–59	20–6 (9–4)	15 – Tied	11 – Aidoo	8 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
February 18, 2023 1:00 p.m., CBS	No. 10	at Kentucky Rivalry	L 54–66	20–7 (9–5)	17 – Vescovi	8 – Mashack	3 – Tied	Rupp Arena (20,323) Lexington, KY
February 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 11	at No. 25 Texas A&M	L 63–68	20–8 (9–6)	14 – Tied	10 – Vescovi	7 – Vescovi	Reed Arena (12,989) College Station, TX
February 25, 2023 6:00 p.m., SECN	No. 11	South Carolina	W 85–45	21–8 (10–6)	18 – James	8 – Nkamhoua	11 – Ziegler	Thompson–Boling Arena (20,273) Knoxville, TN
February 28, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 12	Arkansas	W 75–57	22–8 (11–6)	16 – Nkamhoua	8 – Awaka	5 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,324) Knoxville, TN
March 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 12	at Auburn	L 70–79	22–9 (11–7)	21 – Vescovi	10 – Awaka	4 – Vescovi	Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL
SEC tournament
March 9, 2023 3:00 p.m., SECN	(5) No. 17	vs. (13) Ole Miss Second round	W 70–55	23–9	20 – James	7 – James	4 – Nkamhoua	Bridgestone Arena (13,165) Nashville, TN
March 10, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN	(5) No. 17	vs. (4) No. 25 Missouri Quarterfinals	L 71–79	23–10	17 – Vescovi	10 – Nkamhoua	4 – Mashack	Bridgestone Arena (16,107) Nashville, TN
NCAA Tournament
March 16, 2023* 9:40 pm, CBS	(4 E) No. 20	vs. (13 E) Louisiana First Round	W 58–55	24–10	12 – Key	5 – Nkamhoua	4 – Vescovi	Amway Center (18,018) Orlando, FL
March 18, 2023* 2:40 pm, CBS	(4 E) No. 20	vs. (5 E) No. 12 Duke Second Round	W 65–52	25–10	27 – Nkamhoua	5 – Tied	5 – Vescovi	Amway Center (18,567) Orlando, FL
March 23, 2023* 9:00 p.m., TBS	(4 E) No. 20	vs. (9 E) No. 25 Florida Atlantic Sweet Sixteen	L 55–62	25–11	10 – Tied	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (19,624) New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source

Rankings

See also: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	11	22	22	13	7	6 (1)	8	7	8	5	9	4	2	6	10	11	12	17	20	Not released
Coaches	11	17	21	13	7	7	11	10	9	5	9	4	2	5 (2)	11	13	14	19	21	16

See also

• 2022–23 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team